Ice refrigerator



Oct.'5, 1937.. l A c. JENSEN 2,094,706

, ICE REFRIGERATOR I l 'Filed April 27, 19:56

Patented Oct. 5, 1937 Zittit 1 ICE REFRGERATR v Alma lJensen, Salt Lake City, lUtah ppicaltioll April 27, 1936, Serial N0. 76,623

5 Claims,

` My. invention relates to refrigerators and has for its object to provideia new and highly efcient ice refrigerator which will be able to keep temperatures much lower than those formerly lused."

A further object is'to provide a refrigerator of thelshow casetype such as are used for meats which is so constructed that the air is drawn from the refrigerating show case compartment down a iclosed conduit at one end thereof and forced up out through perforated distributing base into and through the ice and up into the refrigerating showcompartment along the cutside'edges thereof thereby accomplishing complete circulation of Lair, better cooling of the air, and using less power and obtaining greater eiciency from an equal amount of ice.

Aistill further object is to provide a refrigerator in which meats may be kept a longer period of time with less dehydration and darkening of the meat than has heretofore been possible with other types of ice refrigerators and much longer and more efficiently than possible with mechanical refrigerators.

These objects I accomplish with the device illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which similar numerals and letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views and as described in the specicationforming a part of this application and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing in which I have shown my refrigerator:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the entire case, parts shown diagrammatically. Figure 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a plan View of one of the tray support shelves.

In the drawing I have shown the outside refrigerator case as A, having the upper portion B provided with glass C in the front face thereofV to allow for full vision of the products displayed thereiny andY having sliding doors E on the back of the upper portion. The lower portion F of the casing and the ends are madeas usual with suitable outside and inside covering and suitable insulation therebetween for proper construction. Across the middle of the entire casing dividing the case into two compartments 5 and 6, I provide removable shelves l on which the trays are supported. These shelves are made with solid outside frame work 3, angle iron cross braces l and it across each end, and screen or perforated plate Il for the rest of the shelf. Thus, air may pass through the shelves i from the compartment 5 into the upper compartment 6.

The trays T are then set down onto the shelves and are made of a size to fit between the angle iron cross braces il and lil leaving the end sections Wand i3 of the shelves through which air may pass up around the ends of the trays. Also where the trays are set apart, the air may pass up through the portion of the shelves not covered by the trays. The trays 'I' are of the usual butcher tray type used in all display cases. Completely over the bottom of the refrigerator, I then provide a screen floor i5 spaced from the bottom It of the refrigerator by suitable spacer bars to allow flushing out of the entire floor of the refrigerator to carry off the accumulated ice. slime and deposit left by all ice when melted. Along the center of this I provide an air conduit or duct it having openings or ports i9 therethrough and the ice is placed in the case completely covering the conduit i8 and filling the compartment H made for storage of ice.

A partition 2i is provided to divide the lower portion B of the case into ice compartment I-I and storage compartment K. Near the end of the case I provide an air chamber il and leading into this chamber I provide a duct 26 used to blow air from a fan or blower G into this chamber and thence into the conduit i3 and out through the openings or ports IS into the ice compartment. The suction side of the blower casing is connected with a conduit 22 which extends upwardly through the display portion of the case to the top of the case and is there connected with a longitudinal horizontal conduit 24 leading from one end of the case to the other7 drawing off all air from the case through ports 25 into the conduit.

The partition 2l between the ice compartment I-I and the storage compartment K is provided with an adjustable plate 'itl to control the amount of opening over the top of the partition into the storage compartment K. The motor M for driving the fan has a long shaft 28 and the motor is mounted outside the case With the shaft carried through the side Wall of the case to the blower thus eliminating all motor heat from the case.

As shown in Figure 2 the angle iron 9 which supports the trays T on the shelves 'l is set farther from the end of the shelves than the brace lll to allow more air to pass up around the front edge of the shelves than around the rear.

The operation of the case is as follows:

Ice is lled intofthe ice compartment I-I and the motor is started. This sucks air from the conduit 22 and the conduit 24 and through the ports from the display compartment B and forces it from the blower G through the conduit 26 into the air chamber I'l and through the conduit I8 out through the ports I9 into the ice. This forced draft forces the air up and around the ice and some of the air strikes directly onto the screens I I of the shelves l passing through to cool the bottom of the trays T and then travels across the bottom of the trays and up around the sides or ends. The rest of the air is forced up through the ice and through the ends I2 and I3 of the shelves and into the compartment B where it is picked up by the suction from the conduit 24 and the cycle of air continued. Part of the forced draft of air is forced over the partition ZI into the store compartment K and then up around the trays which are above this compartment but a complete circulation of air is accomplished With this system.

Having thus described my'invention I desire to secure by Letters Patent and claim:

1. In a refrigerator of the display type, the combination of a long display refrigerating compartment; an ice compartment disposed under part of said display compartment; a ported distributing conduit along the bottom of said ice conduit; a perforated collecting compartment disposed along the top of said display compartment; a blower connected with said distributing compartment to blow air through said conduit and through the ice means connecting the collecting conduit with said blower; means to elevate the distributing conduit from the bottom oor of said refrigerator; slanted perforate shelving mounted in said refrigerator in position play compartment to refrigerate the food carried on said trays.

2. A structure of the type defined in claim l in which said shelving is constructed of separable sections each removable from the refrigerator independently of the other shelves.

3. In a refrigerator of the class described, the

combination of a display casing; perforated shelving arrangedcwithin said casing to divide the same into two compartments, arranged one above the other; means arranged in the lower compartment to form an ice receptacle therein; a conduit in the lower portion of said receptacle having a closed end and provided with outlets positioned to discharge air through ice in said receptacle; a conduit arranged along the upper Wall of the casing and having intake openings distributed along its length; and a blower interposed between and connecting said conduits.

4. The structure dened in claim 3 in which said shelving is provided with spacing means ar- "anged to maintain trays placed on said shelving spaced apart to provide air passage between the same.

5. The structure described and defined in claim 3 in which a motor is mounted outside of said casing and connected to drive said blower.

ALMA C. JENSEN. 

